


Rainy Girl

by SherlockWolf



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Dogs, Domestic Fluff, Dreams, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Pining, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Rescue, Reunions, Soriku - Freeform, another post canon exploratory fic, everyone is 18+
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:48:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22727149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockWolf/pseuds/SherlockWolf
Summary: “Woohoo! I’m finally winning a race!”“What do you want for your prize?” Riku asked, thinking of how there had always been some reward to their contests.Ice cream, sea shells, toys, homework, movie tickets, paopu, Kairi…“Last time you said if I win I could share a paopu with Kairi.”“Do you still want that?” Riku hated how his heart ached—Sora had already gotten that wish.Riku wanted to tell him. But this younger Sora wouldn’t understand just how much that moment had meant for himself and Kairi.“No.”~Title inspired by the song by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
Relationships: Demyx/Zexion (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Olette (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 95





	1. Prolouge

A dream is a wish your heart makes  
When you're fast asleep  
In dreams you will lose your heartache  
Whatever you wish for, you keep

Have faith in your dreams and someday  
Your rainbow will come smiling through  
No matter how your heart is grieving  
If you keep on believing  
The dream that you wish will come true

M. David, J. Livingston, and A. Hoffman

Merely a day’s preparation found Riku lying in a chair beside Kairi, science-induced sleep closing his mind to reality. For a long while he drifted in a sea of colors. Then, those colors darkened in hue, until all faded into dark.

Immeasurable time passed before Riku remembered himself. The result was a splash of blues, rushing in to fill the starless night like a tidal wave. The blue flowed like water, too. Directly in front of Riku’s line of sight, a bright-yellow ball began to glow, a lighthouse in the storm. Riku hurried to it. His movement was much quicker than running, however, and his own speed disoriented him for a moment. He looked to either side of his body, and found a pair of bat-like wings properly proportioned for himself. With new-found vigor at the untold meaning those wings held, Riku powered forward.

The light grew larger and larger, until it washed away the blues entirely. Riku flew into it, expecting something to happen, but for ages it seemed he was flying through a tunnel. But all tunnels had to end, didn’t they?

Suddenly, he heard the voice of a young child.

"Hey, wait up!"

Riku opened his wings wide and threw his body backward, coming to a short, sharp halt. His wings kept flapping to keep him aloft, thankfully taking up a small amount of his concentration. The rest focused on listening for that voice. When it didn’t come again, Riku called out.

“Hello?”

No response. He continued flying.

"Would you just wait for me?"

This time, Riku kept going.

“No time to waste!” He called out to the voice.

"That's enough, I can't run anymore!!"

“Where are you?” Riku tried, but he kept flying.

It seemed he was in some sort of time-vortex, where only forward momentum would bring the next response.

"Know what? Why won't you tell me?"

“I’m flying, in Light. I don’t know where, exactly.”

The next time the voice responded, it was much deeper, and so familiar it made Riku’s heart ache.

“Where did you come from?"

“Home.” Riku replied without thinking, but didn’t retract his answer.

Generally speaking, it was true.

“Where are you going?”

“To find you.”

"So, you're looking for me?"

“Yes.”

"Who are you?"

“Riku.”

“You can’t be…Riku.”

This time when the voice deepened Riku’s heart not only ached, it stopped. He stopped with it, pulling up hard and short once again. The light that surrounded him became heavy, as though pressing in on all sides, squeezing him. He couldn’t move, couldn’t flap his wings, couldn’t _breathe._

“Why not?” He asked, a hoarse whisper.

He hadn’t expected an answer.

“Riku can’t be here. I’m not…he _wouldn’t_ …” the voice sobbed, “not again!”

Before Riku could reply, the light vanished like someone had flicked a switch. Riku was left to suffocate in the dark, and soon blacked out.

~

“Ah!”

Bright midday light and blurry green and tan scenery came into view, swimming around him. He felt woozy, sluggish, and lifted both hands to cover his eyes. Sounds came next, constant and rushing like the waves of the sea. Finally, sensation. He was warm, skin moist. It was humid. Slowly, carefully, Riku moved one finger at a time to take in his settings. Beach, palm trees, ocean. Wooden cabin, ladders, treehouse.

Home.

Home reminded him painfully of Sora. Riku wished nothing more than to find his best friend, alive and happy as ever. No place like home to make his wish come true.

~

Every inch of the play island was explored before Riku gave up in an exhausted, frustrated heap at the base of the sideways tree. If Sora was here, he was staying well out of sight. This was Riku’s dream, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t he be in charge?

If only that was how it worked.

Riku sighed, and dropped his head back against the bark. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the island in a warm golden glow. It reminded Riku of Twilight Town, and for a while he lost himself reminiscing about the year he had spent running in and out of the Old Mansion, keeping Namine company through long, unproductive days while waiting for Sora’s recompletion. He missed her wise words of comfort now. She was like him, always thinking about the right next step to take. She just had a lot less anger and self-resentment in the way, always keeping her mind clear and focused.

The stars began to peek through the sky, eventually littering the dark blue night with beacons of hope.

“Sora’s gotta be here somewhere…” He murmured to himself, though he wasn’t sure he believed it.

“Riku?” Sora’s voice directly to Riku’s right broke the rhythm of the crashing waves.

When Riku looked over, however, the sand beside him was as empty as ever.

“Sora?” He tried, just in case.

“Riku! Where are you?” The voice came again from the same place, sounding far less distressed than in the tunnel.

“The play island. Where are you?”

“I don’t know, somewhere I’ve never been before. A city, lots of tall buildings, and it’s dark. The moon…it’s shaped like a heart.”

Riku felt chilled, despite the warmth of the island. He had a suspicion he knew of the place.

“And there’s this guy here, Riku. He looks so much like you, but isn’t. One of his eyes is red, and he attacked me. I won, barely. He disappeared, and ever since I’ve been wandering the city.”

Fear stilled Riku’s heart.

“Sora, do you still have your keyblade?”

The reply came delayed, as though Sora had tested for himself, “Yes.”

“Okay. Stay in that city. I’ll come to you.”

“How?”

“I’ll find a way.”

“Riku…” Sora sounded panicked again, “be careful, okay?”

“I promise.”

Now, he just needed a way off the island.

As though on cue, something large and wooden floated just beyond the tiny island of the paopu tree. A mast. Riku leapt to his feet and peered over the side of the island. Below on the water’s surface was the raft he, Sora, and Kairi had built so many years ago.

“I found the raft.” He told Sora.

“Of course you did,” Sora laughed, voice still coming from beside the tree.

Riku had hoped the voice would come with him. Perhaps he would find it again wherever the raft took him next.

“You’re farther away.” Sora spoke again, sounding worried.

“Yeah. Whatever communication we found, I don’t think it’s long distance.”

“Okay. Keep your promise, Riku.”

Riku gave the tree a nod, for lack of a physical Sora, “I will.”

He jumped down onto the raft, untied the paddle secured to the mast, and began pushing out to sea.

~

The sea had quickly returned to the dark void, though the raft remained solid and real under Riku’s feet. He continued to push the raft through the not-water, hoping forward momentum would further his journey as it had in the tunnel of light. His efforts were soon rewarded with the return of the child’s voice.

"Riku, race ya! First one to the boat gets to be captain!"

“I’m already on the boat!” Riku called back.

“Aw, no way! That’s cheating!”

“Too slow, Sora.”

An older voice, pouting with childlike innocence, “You’ve always been faster.”

“Not always.”

“Oh yeah?”

“You’re ahead of me now, aren’t you?”

“I am?”

“Yeah.”

“Woohoo! I’m finally winning a race!”

“What do you want for your prize?” Riku asked, thinking of how there had always been some reward to their contests.

Ice cream, sea shells, toys, homework, movie tickets, paopu, Kairi…

“Last time you said if I win I could share a paopu with Kairi.”

“Do you still want that?” Riku hated how his heart ached—Sora had _already_ gotten that wish.

Riku wanted to tell him. But this younger Sora wouldn’t understand just how much that moment had meant for himself and Kairi.

“No.”

“Okay. What else?” Riku was completely caught off guard.

He’d been sure that was one of Sora’s deepest desires, no matter how old he was.

“Can I share it with you instead?”

Riku’s heart caught in his throat, having been handed evidence he knew nothing of Sora’s true dreams. Even that young, before their lives had belonged to a higher purpose, had Sora wanted that with him? Why hadn’t he said anything?

“Yeah.”

“Yay! You’re the best, Riku!”

“No,” Riku vehemently disagreed, “you are.”

"Hey, Riku. What's that light?" Sora changed the subject suddenly, and Riku squinted ahead through the dark.

A pin-prick of light shone, rapidly expanding like a far-off nuclear explosion.

“I’ll catch up soon, Sora!” Riku yelled as the light reached him.

Everything became bright white, and Riku lost consciousness once again.

~

The next world he woke in was Traverse Town. It was as empty as the islands. No Sora. By the time Riku reached the third district he was disheartened. He hadn’t found Sora’s disembodied voice, either. He stood in the center of the district, eyeing every detail of the fountain for clues. Nothing.

“Where next?” Riku asked the air.

Silence.

And then, a few feet away and low to the ground, “Hey.”

Stark relief, “Sora.”

“Still here.” Sora sounded relieved, too, “where are you?”

“Traverse Town.” Riku stepped closer to the voice and sat down, hoping he was facing Sora at least somewhat.

“Huh. I haven’t been there in a while. Has it changed?”

“Not a bit.”

“That’s good.”

“How’re things with you?”

“Still lost in this big city. I’ve been able to find comfortable places inside buildings to sleep, thankfully. I’d hate to sleep on the streets. He might find me there.”

“Have you seen him again?” Riku asked, unable to mask his worry at the reference to whomever had attacked Sora.

“Yeah, once. I saw him jumping over buildings. He was far away so he didn’t see me. I hid in a building—actually, I only left a minute ago.”

“Maybe you should go back.”

“I…don’t want to. It’s been ages since I talked to you.”

Sora’s consciousness must not have been a part of the conversations in between worlds. But then, Riku wondered, who had he been talking to? Sora’s heart, or memories? Which one was he speaking to now? But this wasn’t the time to figure that out. Sora was in danger.

“Your safety is more important—.”

“No! Riku I—.” Sora cut himself off, likely realizing that he’d shouted his disagreement.

A moment passed in which Riku was terrified Sora’s stalker had found him, but then Sora spoke again, quieter.

“I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. But I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know. I’m keeping watch, I promise.”

Frustrated he couldn’t be there to protect Sora, Riku said, “I wish I could find you faster, but this isn’t a dream I can command.”

“Wait, are you dreaming?”

“Yeah. It was Fairy Godmother’s idea for me to trace you through my dreams, and see if I could find you that way. Looks like it worked, sort of.”

Sora was quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time. Riku wished he could touch him just to make sure he was still there. He reached out a hand to where he thought Sora’s chest might be…and his hand made contact with something soft. Not skin, but fabric. Fabric that felt like Sora’s jacket.

“What the—?!” Sora exclaimed, and the sensation under Riku’s hand vanished.

“Did you feel that?” Riku asked, though the answer was obvious.

Sora let out a puff of air, “You scared me to death.”

“Sorry. I didn’t think anything would happen.” Riku chose to ignore the irony of Sora’s word choice.

“Do it again.”

Riku repeated the motion, and felt fabric again.

“Is that your hand?” Sora asked.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

Suddenly, calloused fingers took hold of his own, fumbling a bit until both his and Sora’s were intertwined. Riku felt a weight lift from his stomach.

“You’re real.” Sora said, sounding on the verge of tears, “All this time I thought I’d made you up.”

“I’m real. And I’m going to take you home.”

Sora took a shaky breath, “Riku…”

Riku didn’t want Sora to cry. He pulled on the hand, using his other to latch onto Sora’s jacket and drag him forward into a hug. It took Sora a second to catch on, but when he did he crawled into Riku’s lap and wrapped his free arm behind his shoulders, clinging tight. A nose bumped Riku’s neck, and the tickle of soft hair brushed his chin.

They sat that way for a long while, comforting one another through endless distance. The magic of dreams never failed to amaze Riku. Though he wasn’t rescuable yet, the dreams had brought them together almost immediately. And all Riku really had had to do was keep his purpose in the forefront of his mind.

“I want to ask you a million questions,” Sora murmured at one point, “but I’d feel bad if we got home and I couldn’t remember any of the answers.”

“I don’t mind telling you twice. I might not remember, either.”

Sora asked him mostly about how their friends were. He even wanted to know about Selfie, Wakka, and Tidus, which sadly Riku knew nothing of how their childhood friends were doing. He told Sora all the efforts being made to find him, saving Kairi for last knowing Sora would be upset. He was right. Sora lamented how nobody, especially not Kairi, should be wasting their time—he was beyond saving. Riku wanted to shake the daylights out of him for even entertaining the thought.

“If you were that lost, would I be here?”

Sora couldn’t argue with that, though it was clear in his tone he wanted to, “No.”

“Exactly.” Riku couldn’t help but reinforce his point.

“I just…I can’t be _that_ important. I helped save the universe, but that’s over, isn’t it? Why does it matter if I stay here or not?”

Riku felt cold, as though someone had stuck him in a freezer. He held Sora tighter, as though he would vanish any second.

“How can you say that? To _me_?” He had such a hard time forcing the words through his hurt, they came out a whisper.

Sora tensed, “I’m sorry. I know you…I know…I just…” he scrambled to explain himself, “I have too much time to think here. And I’ve been having a lot of weird thoughts lately.”

Too much time. They were wasting too much time, sitting here while Riku could be getting closer to saving him. This in mind, Riku did one of the hardest things he always had to do—he pushed Sora away, getting to his feet.

“Riku? Riku, please, I’m sorry, please don’t go!” Sora began to panic, cry, and Riku hated himself for hurting him.

But he had to.

“I’m coming, Sora. Stay safe.”

“Riku!” Sora sobbed, and Riku had to run out of the district before he gave in.

~

The gates of the district didn’t open to the rest of Twilight Town. They opened into pitch black. Steeling himself for another journey through the void, Riku ran forward. He felt wings sprout on his back, and his speed increased three-fold. The faster, the better. 

Too much time to think, Sora had said. Riku had had ample himself. Ample time to regret letting Sora go after Kairi alone, even though Riku wanted to show Sora how much he trusted and believed in him. Sora hadn’t _failed_ , no, Kairi was home safe and sound. But Sora had given too much, bargained not merely his heart and soul, but his _life_. Riku thought, maybe if he’d gone too, that wouldn’t have happened. Maybe Sora wouldn’t feel worthless. Riku couldn’t help but feel that was at least partly his fault. He’d abandoned Sora so many times in the past—even though he truly wanted to get closer to Sora—it was sure to leave some lasting mark.

What was it Sora’s heart had said to him when he’d first arrived here?

_"Hey, wait up!"_

He may as well have said, _“Riku, don’t leave me behind!”_

Riku had every reason to be worried. The void no longer spoke, and each world he visited remained quiet. He had to be getting closer to Sora—his dreams were guiding him, it seemed, even if they were taking their sweet time. But the quiet scared him. Had the stalker caught up to Sora? Was Sora still—no. He couldn’t go there.

Riku stood at the helm of an old and battle-weary pirate ship, gazing into space and wishing beyond wishes he’d never stood on this deck. The captain’s quarters below held such evil memories.

“I’m so sorry,” Riku whispered to the ship, dropping his head on his arms crossed over the wheel.

No response. Not that Riku wanted one, to something like that. What would Sora say?

“ _Don’t be sorry, you didn’t do anything wrong!”_

How far that was from the truth. He still wished Sora was there to say it.

Riku walked away from the wheel, stopping at the bow and looking up at the stars. One of those would take him to Sora. Or, so he hoped. He fixed on one at random.

“I need a miracle, not a wish.” He murmured, then closed his eyes and jumped overboard.

Falling, falling, falling…his wings snapped out and caught him, whipping him back. The whiplash stunned him, for a moment, and when he regained awareness he found himself gliding over a massive nighttime city, skyscrapers offering endless landing spots. A bright light gleamed in the corner of his eye, and when Riku turned he found a heart-shaped moon hanging low on the horizon.

He’d made it.

Riku flew around the buildings, searching every alleyway and street for signs of Sora. Trees, trashcans, telephone boxes, bridges, nothing. No sign of the stranger who looked like himself, either. As the search dragged on, Riku’s hope wavered. It had been so long since they’d spoken…

There. A flash of movement as quick as a bird, between the pillars of an underpass. Riku swooped low, landing beside the first pillar. The small, cramped space under the road was dark, with barely enough light from nearby streetlamps for shapes to be distinct. A human shape, somewhat obscured by a pillar toward the highest end.

“I don’t want to fight again.” The person spoke—weary, annoyed, afraid.

“You don’t have to.” Riku answered, relief choking his words, “I’ve got it from here.”

“Ri…ku?” A hesitant step forward, out of the shadows.

“I finally did it, didn’t I?”

Riku wasn’t a crier. It just wasn’t his thing. His thing was taking action, finding solutions, powering through anything so he could achieve his goal without wallowing in the heartache. Sora had enough tears for the both of them, anyway. He always had.

Except, as Sora leapt into his arms and swung him around in a tight hug, hiding his face against Riku’s neck and shaking like a leaf, Riku couldn’t deny the dam burst. He rested his cheek against the top of Sora’s hair and let himself feel a year’s worth of pain, and a moment’s worth of paradise.


	2. Interlude

The road home didn’t give much time for talking. It was a long, hard fight. When they finally freed themselves, they did so hand-in-hand. Black, leathery bat-wings beat the harmony while white feathered bird-wings whistled the melody. Together, they flew to dawn, nightmares left behind with the dark.


	3. One

Through the long corridors the ghosts of the past walk unforbidden, hindered only by broken promises, dead hopes, and dream-dust.

Myrtle Reed

Riku woke with a jolt, disoriented in the dark with floating colored lights sparkling his vision. His hands flew to cover his eyes, and for a moment he sat and focused on breathing. He knew he was sitting, and another second had him realize he was in the chair at Ienzo’s lab. He set down his hands and blinked his eyes to look around and confirm.

Home.

Sora.

_Sora_. Where was Sora? Had he made it?

“Sora!” Riku leapt from the chair, stumbling on the floor as he caught his balance.

“Woa, Riku! Careful.”

Hands came to his arms, pulling him upright and holding on to steady him. Myed.

“Where’s Sora?” Riku probably looked as panicked as he felt.

“Sleeping, behind you.” Myed was kind enough to turn Riku slowly around.

Sora was set on a third chair positioned behind Riku and Kairi’s. Riku tore away from Myed, unnecessarily as it was a short run to Sora’s side. He picked up one of Sora’s hands in both of his own, and held tight. Riku wasn’t going to wake him—Sora deserved as much rest as he wanted. Instead, he stood watch beside him, to wait as he once had. Hopefully not nearly as long.

“Uh, should I wake Kairi?” Myed asked.

“Please.”

She would be so happy.

Riku was right. As soon as she woke spied Sora and Riku, her eyes widened, and she let out a half-scream half-squeal of excitement. She swung from her chair and skipped to him, smile shining with tears. Small arms wrapped around his waist as Kairi latched onto him.

“I missed you, Riku!” She said, beaming up at him.

Riku found himself lost for words, so he turned around and gave her a proper hug. Grieving for Sora on his own for a year had been lonely. He’d missed her, too.

“So,” Kairi said as they let go and both turned to watch Sora, “What all did I miss?”

Riku let out a heavy sigh. Where to start?

~

Sora didn’t wake until the next morning. By then, Riku had spent the night not only catching up Kairi, but everyone invested in Sora. His voice had gone hoarse, so Kairi took charge of the last few calls. She’d memorized the tale well enough by then.

The final call they made, to Sora’s mother, was by far the worst. She was the most accepting of all their parents to their children’s “choices”, but that didn’t mean she didn’t worry. A lot. And she hadn’t seen Sora in two years—since he and Riku had left to take their mastery exam from Yen Sid. There was a lot more to fill her in on, and a lot more fudging of details.

Finally, the deed was done, and Kairi and Riku sat in regular chairs beside Sora’s fancy one, waiting for him. Myed brought a card table, his own chair, a deck of cards, Ienzo, and three spoons. The four of them played card games for a few hours. Then, Sora stirred, and woke.

Ienzo tried his best to take vitals around all the hugs and hand-holding and tears.

Ansem eventually made an appearance, Even trailing behind most likely out of curiosity than sympathy for the reunited friends. 

“Well,” Ansem addressed the trio while Ienzo, Myed, and Even looked on, “what will you three do now?”

Sora was the one who decided for them, almost immediately, “We’re going home.”

He spoke with such conviction, neither Riku nor Kairi chose to argue. Riku wouldn’t have anyway—going home sounded wonderful. With his two best friends there, the islands really would feel like home. He would actually be able to stay there longer than a few hours.

Highwind was parked in the underground garage of the castle, so for the rest of the day Riku, Sora, Kairi, Demyx, and Ienzo packed it with as much supplies and munny as the castle could spare. They finished packing right before dinner, after which they said their goodbyes.

Riku took the pilot’s seat, allowing Kairi and Sora to lounge about the ship and play games while he flew. He listened to their games of Go Fish, Uno, and War as he navigated around space rocks and battled away heartless ships. Eventually the cheers and jeers of games quieted, and Riku assumed the two had curled up in one of the bunks in the back of the ship to rest for the night. In the silence his mind began to wander, and he lost himself in thoughts and stars.

~

Gummy travel was not as fast as Riku wished it would be. They’d been flying for six hours and were still three away from arriving. Obstacles were less and less frequent this far on the edge of the ocean, and so Riku had nothing to keep him entertained or distracted from his thoughts.

When there was too much time to think, and he’d thought about everything else he could, Riku would find himself wondering why his darkness magic wasn’t colored green. Perhaps dark only came in purple, but it wasn’t right for him. The darkness that festered in his heart was tinged green. Not the beautiful colors of foliage, rather pukes, peas, moldy, muddy. The greens that no one would want, the greens that were revolting.

He sat awake hurting, hating, _jealous_ , staring out at the stars and accomplishing nothing.

Such an awful feeling, jealousy. Riku wished to have nothing to do with it. But he knew his life was framed around it, had been since Kairi came into their lives. He hated it. He wished he had…

So many wishes.

All in the past, he reminded himself. Nothing could be changed in the past, so there was no reason to waste energy on what _might_ have been. What he could do was focus on the present, and tomorrow, and continue to do better. Not just for the universe, or for Destiny Islands, or for Kairi, or even for Sora. For himself. Yet, no matter how he atoned—and he knew he had—he wasn’t able to chase away this one, lingering, nasty feeling.

The way he looked at her.

Riku had forgotten, it had been so long since the three of them had had a moment to themselves.

Amazing his skin wasn’t green, either.

~

He’d dug himself in quite a hole and was working his way out of it when something—rather some _one_ —broke the monotony.

Sora flopped heavily into the back of Riku’s chair, arms draping forward and trailing over Riku’s shoulders. Riku looked up, finding Sora’s eyes _very_ close as he frowned down at Riku. Quickly, Riku looked back at the space ocean. The nebulas reflected Sora’s blue.

“I’m bored.” Sora announced.

“Join the club.” Riku sympathized.

“Let me drive.” Sora demanded.

Riku relented, knowing that even if he staged an argument Sora would win. When he stood, Riku turned for the bunks. Perhaps a nap would help get him on track, so he could fake enthusiasm when they got home.

Sora didn’t so much as allow him a step before he was pulling Riku into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around Riku’s waist. Riku loosely looped his arms over Sora’s shoulders. Sora relaxed against him, resting his cheek on Riku’s chest and letting out a contented hum.

“Ship can’t fly itself.” Riku murmured after they’d stood like that long enough to make him worry about meteors.

Sora let go, sort of. He sat in the pilot’s seat, holding onto Riku’s arm just above the wrist. Riku could only partially turn back to the window.

“What’s up?” He asked.

Clearly Sora didn’t want him to go, which meant he wanted to talk about something.

“I’m bored.” Sora dodged a deeper answer with one hand on the steering wheel and both eyes on Riku.

“And _not_ driving.”

Sora rolled his eyes and looked out in front of them. Riku looked, too. Empty space. Sora tugged on his arm.

“Stay.”

“Okay.”

Riku pried Sora’s hand off him, then sat on the floor to the right of the pilot’s chair. Highwind didn’t have multiple chairs like Donald’s gummyship, an observation Sora had made when they’d first stepped on board. It had never been an issue before, but now Riku wished he had a second chair.

They watched the stars and occasional meteor pass by, Sora driving with both hands and shoe-less feet folded under him. Riku was resting his head on the arm of the chair, beginning to drift away, wrapped in feelings of comfort and safety brought on by Sora’s presence.

Fingers began weaving through his hair. So light, at first, Riku thought he was imagining it. Surer, then, rousing Riku from the edge of sleep. He didn’t stir, not wanting to stop whatever was happening. If Sora wanted to grant him this, Riku wasn’t about to do anything to ruin it.

Sora was humming a tune, one Riku didn’t recognize. His voice and the repetitive touch lulled Riku right back to dreamland.


	4. Two

The years that are gone seem like dreams--if one might go on sleeping and dreaming--but to wake up and find--oh! well! perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life.

Kate Chopin

When he woke, Riku found Kairi tugging on his jacket and coaxing him awake by name. He stretched his arms wide and yawned, then trapped her in a loose headlock. She giggled and pushed away from him, and they sat on the floor smiling at each other for a moment before she cheerily informed him,

“We’re here! Sora landed us on the play island so we wouldn’t scare anybody. He’s making a sweep to make sure we have the place to ourselves. We thought we could spend today just having fun—think about the big stuff tomorrow. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Kairi beamed, then hopped to her feet and gave Riku her hand. He stood, then she bounced off to the back of the ship. Riku stretched for a few minutes, waiting for either her or Sora to reappear. What he got instead was a bathing suit tossed at his head.

“Come on, change then join us outside!” Kairi ordered, and Riku turned to find her changed into a pink-with-white-flowers swimsuit.

Kairi dashed out the open hatch, giving him privacy to change. Riku still went to the back of the ship, just in case Sora came out of nowhere.

The three spent the rest of the day playing in the surf. Ideas of housing and jobs and adult responsibilities they were wholly unprepared for, less so than they should have been at their age if they’d grown up normally, passed through Riku’s mind. But he shooed those thoughts away as best he could, to be present with the two people he loved most in his life.

A moment passed, in between a turn of one of their games, where Riku stood on the sand facing Sora and Kairi, who were standing in the water beside each other grinning and laughing. He wished he had his phone on him so he could take a picture—they were beautiful in the reflection of the afternoon sun on the surf, glowing like the rays of light that constructed their souls.

Riku recalled a day, years ago, where the three of them were reunited on this very beach. Another scene where Sora and Kairi were apart from him, hearts of light drawn together, away from the heart of dark. That day, Riku had been sure he was going to be left behind by them. He had gotten all three of them into terrible situations, and assumed his value to them had been thoroughly lost. The only thing that had given him hope, had stopped him from running away, was the memory of Sora falling to his knees and crying in relief that he’d found Riku. It had been so unexpected, so undeserved, but the message was as clear that day as it was these—Sora still wanted him in his life.

Kairi, too. She gave him space or included him as he needed, spoke with him, played with him. She never let on if she resented him for what he’d done or for leaving her behind time after time. She’d forgiven him as wholly as Sora, though she and Riku weren’t as close as either of them were with Sora. Riku wanted to change that, though there was still that awful green monster he had to battle, had been battling since Kairi joined them all those years ago. Her friendship was worth the battle. It had taken him too long to realize that.

~

Dinner passed and night came, finding the trio playing Cards Against Humanity by campfire light. This particular game had been a gift from Roxas to Riku, some months after Sora disappeared. Roxas had said it was a bit Twilight-Town specific, but he could skip cards he didn’t understand the references to. Riku hadn’t open it yet since it required two or more players. With three of them, it was loads of fun. Since they’d had to grow up individually over the past few years, each of them had matured differently. This meant that, when faced with, “Blank can ease the symptoms of a hangover”, Sora responded with “hot cheese”, Kairi placed “that ass” which Riku chose, revealing each of their senses of humor. By the end of the game, all three of them were red-faced and laughing so hard their sides hurt.

The trio wrapped up the night with tea and hot chocolate while they star-gazed on the beach. Sora sat in the middle of them, Kairi on his right, Riku on his left. Sora held his mug with both hands, while Kairi had one hand buried in the sand between them. Riku mirrored Sora.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Kairi mused, “How far those stars took us, but we still made it back here. Together.”

The boys hummed in agreement. Then Sora said quietly, his eyes on the navy-blue ocean waves,

“Out of all those places I’ve been, all the friends I made, there’s nowhere else I want to be. Just here with you two.”

“Sora!” Kairi giggled bashfully, leaning her shoulder into him and pushing so that Sora leaned against Riku, “We love you, too.”

She placed a light kiss on his cheek, and even in the dark Riku could see his cheeks darken. Sora laughed, too, and pretended to brush off her words with a hug. He did spare a glance at Riku, who simply smiled and nodded along to show he agreed with both of them.

They didn’t speak again until Kairi excused herself to bed, offering to take the empty mugs with her. Riku and Sora wished her goodnight, and both kept an eye on her until she was out of sight in the gummyship. There weren’t any threats on the island, but old habits died hard. Riku was a bit surprised Sora hadn’t gone with her, but he was happy for the company.

Sora leaned his shoulder against Riku’s and let out a relaxed sigh.

“I still can’t quite believe I’m here.” His words came out hesitantly, as though by daring to speak them he was afraid he’d jinxed himself, and would blink his eyes and see that nighttime city again.

Riku pushed back with his own shoulder, feeling playful despite Sora’s heavy words. He guessed Sora remembered everything from that city, but didn’t ask to confirm. He didn’t want those memories to suffocate Sora. He wanted Sora to be happy. Life was good, now, and it would only get better.

“You better start believing, or I’ll have to dunk you.”

Sora gasped, whipping his head around to show Riku his shock. Their faces were so close, Riku almost missed Sora’s indignant,

“You wouldn’t!”

Riku couldn’t help but tease, poking Sora’s ribs with his elbow, “Wouldn’t I?”

“Ugh, okay okay, I believe I’m here! I believe I believe!” Sora tilted his head back and shouted to the stars.

They laughed, hands bumping on the sand between them. Sora looked down, then wove his fingers with Riku’s.

“Can we stay like this?” Sora asked, so quiet Riku barely heard him.

“Of course,” Riku answered, though he had no idea what Sora was referring to.

As if he could deny him anything.

Sora called him out on it with a small chuckle and mirth in his eyes, “You don’t even know what I mean.”

Riku shrugged, not meeting his eyes, “I don’t have to.”

“Don’t you want to?”

“Sure, but you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

“Ha, you’re right.” Sora grinned cheekily.

He lifted their joined hands, pointing at the small island connected by the bridge. Riku looked over, gazing at the tree the three of them used as their throne as kids.

“You were there, weren’t you?” Sora asked quietly, “When you found the raft.”

“Yeah.”

Sora didn’t say anything more about it, instead resting his head on Riku’s shoulder and looking out at the ocean. Riku wondered what he was thinking about. But, it was getting late, and Riku was too tired to press. Like adult responsibilities, Sora’s cryptic thoughts could be addressed later.

Slow breathing and heavier weight against him clued Riku that Sora had fallen asleep. For a while, he continued to sit and watch the rhythm of the waves, enjoying the peace and quiet of being home and feeling safe. It had been ages since he’d felt that, here. Something had always been looming over him—the visceral _need_ to escape, letters requesting examinations he knew nothing about, and of course, Sora’s absence. Destiny Islands may have been his homeworld, but this was the first time in his life Riku thought this place could actually be somewhere he could _stay_. And really, that was only because Sora wanted to be here. As soon as Sora wanted to go somewhere else, Riku knew he’d easily pick up and go, too.

Speaking of going, Riku’s bones were starting to stiffen. Time for bed. Not wanting to wake Sora, Riku carefully maneuvered so he was carrying Sora bridal-style across the beach. Sora roused just to wrap his free arm around Riku’s neck, and murmur something indistinct. Riku couldn’t help an amused smile.

Inside the ship, he set Sora on one of two lower bunks. Sora woke up this time, and whined about not getting sand from his swimsuit in the blankets, so Riku gave up trying to get him under the covers. He went to the front of the ship to close the door, then returned and moved to cross the room and tuck into the empty bottom bunk—Kairi was in the top above Sora—but the quiet call of his name drew his attention.

Seeing he had Riku’s attention, Sora said, “You said you’d stay.”

Riku couldn’t tell if Sora was being silly or serious, but regardless he stepped over to his bunk and poked his shoulder.

“Fine, scoot over.”

When he laid down, he rolled onto his side with his back to Sora. He’d barely settled when a warm arm wormed itself around his chest, hand folding over his heart. Sora tucked his forehead against the back of Riku’s neck, and wove his legs with Riku’s. Then he relaxed, becoming heavy, malleable weight against Riku.

It took Riku some time to accept that yes, this was really happening, and yes, he was going to fall asleep with a Sora-octopus wrapped around him.

Once he accepted it, he fell asleep within moments.


	5. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who read this before the major edits, this is the chapter that begins the plot change.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> <3 sherlockwolf

Riku woke last, finding Sora and Kairi bouncing around the small kitchenette as they cooked breakfast. Their meal was quick, seeing the trio off after eggs and cereal and orange juice. Their destination was the main island, to find a place the three of them could live. They hadn’t talked about it prior, but as they caught a boat to shore they discovered that that was what the three of them wanted, at least for the time being.

As they visited apartments and houses, the trio began brainstorming. None of them were experienced in house-hunting, so the first few tours went by as confused blurs, where they simply replied to the realtor’s questions with a lot of, “We don’t know”s. But, as they walked into the fourth apartment, they began to get an idea of what they wanted.

Three bedrooms—self-explanatory.

A backyard—Riku’s idea so they could keep up on training.

A balcony—Kairi’s idea, so they could always see the ocean and stars with ease.

A large kitchen—Sora’s idea, because he’d found a love for cooking and wanted to show off his skills to his friends, while simultaneously having plenty of cabinet space so they never ran out of food.

Their criteria ruled out apartments, so they stuck to houses only. After a few in the more central parts of town, they branched out to the edges. Those houses cost more, but offered isolation from strangers that appealed to all three of them. Riku was the only truly anti-social one so it went without saying that he loved it, but Sora and Kairi both admitted to enjoying the quieter atmosphere of the homes farther from the busy town, too.

Evening had arrived by the time they found one impossible to resist. Two miles from the center of town, on the opposite side of the main island from the play island, was a two-story house which not only met all their criteria, but the backyard was actually beach. The part of the island was so isolated that their closest neighbors were hundreds of yards away on either side, and concealed by thick tropical forest.

Upon realizing they could park the gummyship there without issue, the decision was made faster than the relator was prepared for. She even asked if they wanted one more day to review it and talk it over, but the trio refused. They signed the documents on the kitchen island in the house, handed over the cost with most of the munny provided by Ansem—they had plenty left, plus their own savings to get them through a year at least—and bid the relator goodnight and thanks.

And suddenly, they were home-owners.

~

The next two weeks passed in a blur. The trio packed up the gummyship once again, then under cover of night flew to their beach. Unloading took a full day, and the rest of the week was packed with deciding who got which room, where things would go, how to divvy up fridge and cabinet space, and what furniture items they would need to buy before a month passed.

The house quickly began to take shape as a living space. The front door opened to the kitchen, which sprawled to the left while a hallway stretched forward, with half of it becoming stairs to the right which lead to the second floor. Beyond the hallway was the open-floor living and dining room, with a half-bathroom tucked in the far-right corner. They had set a dining table—four-seating, wooden, and square that the three of them had gone out and purchased—on the far left, where an archway led into the kitchen. The back wall had sliding glass doors on either end which lead to the backyard, with solid wall in the center. There they had placed a TV stand with Sora’s TV on top and its various devices and cartridges he’d brought from his mother’s house in the cabinets below. Set some feet in front of the TV was the couch, leaving a decent open walkway behind it from the hallway to the dining area, as well as to either sliding door.

The second floor held the bedrooms and the full bathroom. Each of them had purchased a mattress and bed-set, none wanting to sleep in sleeping bags forever. Riku had bought a desk, chair, and bedside table, the surfaces upon which he placed lamps so he could have softer lighting than the bright circle light in the center of the ceiling. Sora had strung up fairy lights in his room, and after a few days of debating both Kairi and Riku gave in and did the same through the rest of the house, not just their rooms.

At the end of the first week, Riku decided the living room needed a bookshelf, so he spent half a day searching for one. When he returned, he found Kairi and Sora curled up on the couch, heads together as they talked. They stopped abruptly when they saw him, but before they could explain themselves he requested their help carrying and organizing his collection of books. He never asked about that conversation and they never explained, That was alright between the three of them.

Sora demanded a couch and TV, so he and Kairi went out on a mission while Riku organized his room. When they returned, Sora’s mother was in tow as well as a TV and couch. She had loved every square-inch of the house, excited by the prospects of the three of them growing into adulthood. She made suggestions about dishes and organization and laundry and other household things, some of which were helpful and some self-explanatory. Riku found it weird having her around for so long—he wasn’t used to being parented anymore, as the older adults in his life tended to respect him more as an equal than a child. The exception was Queen Minnie, who was as doting as Sora’s mother.

Kairi’s father came by one day, as well. Riku stayed in his room for that one—the former-mayor had never been fond of him.

Riku hadn’t seen or spoken to his own parents since the first time he’d left the island. Neither Kairi nor Sora seemed to know that, nor did he want them to find out. Thankfully, neither of their parents mentioned it, or if they did, his friends chose not to ask.

They continued to customize and settle through the second week, each decorating their room with personal items from their parent’s houses—in the case of Sora and Kairi—as well as things they’d collected during their travels—mostly Riku and Sora.

Finally, the work was done. When they realized this, they held a celebratory dinner between themselves, including s’mores for dessert which they made around the fire pit they’d set up on their beach.

The night ended with star gazing by the water’s edge, Sora and Kairi talking excitedly about how much they loved the house, while Riku reflected on something wholly different.

Sora.

Sora, who was acting like his normal self multiplied by a thousand. He smiled twice as often at Kairi’s jokes, ran around the house like a cat before bedtime, and practically oozed happiness. Touch was normal between him and Riku, yet over the past two weeks he seemed to have a hand on Riku as much as possible whenever they were in the same room. Sora wasn’t the type to shy away from what he wanted, and he’d never worried about what others’ thought about his and Riku’s friendship. That had been all Riku. He knew he wasn’t Sora’s most important person…would never be. He’d always known, yet always wanted. But the sudden, unexplained physical attachment Sora had for him gave Riku a resentful amount of hope.

The first night they slept in the house, Sora had made a show of going into his own room. Riku and Kairi had shared suspicious glances, but neither could guess what he was up to.

_Riku found out, though, not more than two hours later. He’d retired to his own room, trying to sleep to no avail. It would be the first stretch of time since finding Sora in that city that they’d be separated for hours. As the night wore on he worried whether Sora would greet him in the morning, or if he’d imagined everything and he’d wake up in Merlin’s house._

_A knock on the door disrupted, or saved him from, his swirling thoughts. He sat up and called for whoever it was to come in. Sora made his way to the bed, sitting on the end corner to Riku’s right. They sat in silence for a moment, neither of them looking at each other. The atmosphere between them was tense, not hostile yet nothing like the usual cheer Sora brought with him._

_Sora sighed, sounding frustrated. He glanced up at Riku, as though about to say something, but looked away again. Riku stretched out his toes, poking the side of Sora’s leg to encourage him._

_The tension snapped like a stretched rubber band when Sora smiled a little at him._

_“What’s up?” Riku asked, poking him again._

_Sora shook his head, smile becoming one of false humor as he rubbed an eye with the heel of his hand, “Nothing. Everything.”_

_“I’ll listen.” Riku offered._

_“No…at least, not right now. It’s too late for me to be thinking about hard stuff.”_

_Riku would respect that, though he was dying of curiosity, “Okay.”_

_They sat another moment before Sora got to his feet, whether to go back to his own room or simply pace around Riku’s, it didn’t matter. Riku was so desperate for him to stay, for them to just be together, that the word slipped through his lips before he could stop it._

_“Stay.”_

_Sora froze, turning back around to give Riku a curious look, though he didn’t speak._

_“Please?” Riku added, not wanting to take it back now that it was out there._

_Might as well be honest. Sora was being honest, too._

_“Okay.”_

_Sora went on the left side of the bed, where there was slightly more room, and crawled in. Riku scooted over to make a little more space, and both of them laid on their sides with their backs to each other. Riku missed the warmth of Sora against him—something he’d had a few times, yet felt like he couldn’t live the rest of his life without—but didn’t want to push. He closed his eyes and tried to count Tama Sheep to lull himself to sleep._

_He was beginning to drift, when Sora’s voice cut through the fluffy, orange-and-blue tinged sheep baas._

_“Can I hold your hand?” His voice was closer than it should have been, and blearily Riku rolled over a bit to find Sora had turned on his other side, too, so he was facing Riku._

_“You can hold more, if you want.” Riku murmured, brain too tired to think about the implications of what he’d said._

_Sora was right, it was definitely too late to be talking about hard things, if simple things got muddled and weird. He laid on his back, and held out the hand between them. Instead, Sora took the second offer and lifted himself on top of Riku so their chests were together, Sora’s a bit sideways since the rest of his body remained on the bed. He tucked his head under Riku’s neck, hair flattening under his chin, and slung an arm over so his hand laid on Riku’s shoulder._

_They settled, Riku adjusting to the weight while Sora made his legs comfortable. Riku looped his arms over Sora’s waist, linking his fingers over the small of his back. Sora hummed happily, and Riku closed his eyes to go back to sleep. He hoped it would come quickly now that he and Sora were wrapped up together. The only obstacle was Sora himself, as a minute later he asked Riku,_

_“Do you always sleep without a shirt?”_

_The question caught Riku off guard, and his entire face and neck flushed._

_“Mostly. I can put one on if—.” He hastily offered, but Sora cut him off._

_“No! I…don’t mind. Just curious.”_

_Riku made a non-committal noise to end the topic, and they fell into thoughtful silence once again with Riku counting sheep to avoid thinking about problems he couldn’t solve past midnight. Eventually, he realized that Sora had fallen asleep, chest rising slow and even under Riku’s arms. His t-shirt rubbed against Riku’s skin a little, soft and tickling. Riku’s heart warmed, happy that Sora had chosen to stay. He was happiest when Sora was safe, and as far as Riku was concerned there was nowhere safer than together._

In the following days, Riku had slowly but surely been able to sleep more, reassured by experience that Sora would be fine. But it still didn’t explain Sora’s… _intensified_ behaviour.

Riku sighed, a puff of air the displaced his bangs from his forehead. Both heads of his friends turned to him like kittens watching a pendulum swing his way.

“What’re you thinking about, Riku?” Kairi asked.

Riku scrambled for something reasonable to say, “Just happy to be here with you guys.”

Sora grinned, while Kairi stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry.

“You can’t trick me! That was a serious kind of sigh.” She sat up so she could see him better, and gave him an _I-know-exactly-what-you’re-thinking-about_ look.

“Who said feeling happy can’t be serious?” Sora defended for him, turning back to Kairi with a frown.

“It’s only ever serious with you.” Kairi teased, bopping Sora on the nose with a pointer finger.

Sora narrowed his eyes at her while Kairi gave him some kind of communicative look. Then, she stood and shook sand from her clothes.

“I’m gonna go in and make hot chocolate, you guys want any?”

They both agreed, and she returned to the house with the promise to let them know when their mugs were ready.

Sora turned his gaze back to the stars, laying a hand on the sand between them palm up in invitation. Riku wove his hand with Sora’s, and tried to pick up part of the conversation Sora and Kairi had been having. He looked up at the stars, too.

“So, a dog, huh?”

Sora glanced at him, smiling, “Wouldn’t it be fun?”

Riku had never thought about owning a dog, though he liked the animals. His parents hadn’t let him have anything more than a goldfish, back in elementary school, and then life had gotten too busy and too crazy for any sort of pet. Sora, however, had always wanted a dog. His parents had always told him he could get one when he moved out. Riku supposed Sora had never forgotten that.

“A lot of responsibility.” Riku played devil’s advocate.

“I think saving the universe was more, don’t you?” Sora said with a teasing lilt to his voice.

Riku chuckled, “Yeah. So, where would you get a dog?”

“Ah, well, I was talking to Xion and Roxas the other day, and Xion’s going to get a dog, too. She’s invited me to go look at puppies with her next week.”

That Sora was already looking caught Riku by surprise, “Oh. That’s…fast.”

“That’s what Kairi said.” Sora pouted, “But why wait? There’s nothing else happening now that the house is done.”

Riku couldn’t really argue with that. Plus, a dog would make Sora happy.

“Okay. I suppose you should start getting supplies for it. Food and stuff.”

Sora practically glowed as he sat up with sudden excitement.

“You should help me make a list!”

Riku agreed, so they went inside. Unsurprisingly none of them had thought to buy office supplies, so they ended up making the list on Sora’s gummyphone. Kairi joined them with the hot chocolate, and they whittled away for an hour or so before bedtime was upon them. Or, at least, Riku. Kairi and Sora teased him for being an old man, going to bed at ten, but he preferred to wake up early so he could get in a quiet workout. When he told them as much, Sora pretended to act offended, as though Riku was trying to workout without him just for the silence.

“I can be quiet!”

“No you can’t.” Kairi laughed as Riku said,

“But can you get up at six am?”

Sora drooped, “I _can_ but I don’t _wanna_.”

Thus the argument was over, and Riku retreated to his room.


	6. Four

_I hope I never lose you_

_I hope it never ends._

_I don’t wanna lose you._

_Time could never mend._

_I’m so terrified of if you ever walk away._

_Baby please, don’t go._

_~_

Riku woke in a cold sweat, heart hammering and ears ringing with the sound of his own voice shouting. Images from his dreams swarmed his mind: Sora falling into voids; Kairi swept away by oceans and dragons and black cloaks; Mickey consumed by clouds of heartless; Sora grinning from the dark, teeth sharp, eyes yellow; Sora with his back to Riku, ignoring call after call as he walked closer to a glowing, heart-shaped moon hanging low above the street...

He sat up in bed and flipped on his bedside lamp. He was in his room, in the house he’d bought with Sora and Kairi. They were all safe. The living-nightmare was over.

Sora stirred beside him, rolling over to face Riku and squinting hard in the sudden light.

“’Ku?” He murmured, swinging his arm opposite Riku over himself so it whacked against Riku’s side.

“Sora—.” Riku hurriedly lifted his own arm so it wouldn’t get trapped under Sora, then rested it over Sora’s shoulder while Sora nuzzled his hip.

“Sleep.” Sora grumbled, and his arm wormed across Riku’s lap, “Only sleep.”

Tentatively, Riku brushed away some of Sora’s hair from his face. Sora made a pleased humming sound. Riku felt his heart rate pick up again, this time for a far more happy reason.

“’Ku, light.” Sora grumbled.

“Okay, okay.” Riku reached out with his free hand and clipped off the light.

He wriggled back into a lying position, and once settled Sora readjusted slightly by putting one of his legs atop Riku’s and tucking his face in the crook of Riku’s neck with his forehead pressed just under Riku’s ear. Sora’s nose tickled Riku’s skin, but the warmth radiating against his side was worth it.

Soon, Sora was asleep again. Riku tried matching his breaths with Sora’s, and eventually was lulled to sleep himself.

~

“And, there was a lake, or maybe a giant pond, I’m not sure. But anyway, the heartless attacked us there. Rapunzel was so badass! She used her hair like a whip and…”

Sora’s voice drew Riku from sleep little by little, with images of blue water, shadows, and women with obscenely long hair breaking through the cacophony of his dreams. Dreams which had _not_ included losing Sora to enemies untold. Light touches along his chest traced unknown patterns, soothing him as well.

As he listened Riku stirred, unfolding his legs and stretching his arms over his head toward the wall. Sora was still lying against him, propped up on an elbow, so Riku snaked one of his arms low over Sora’s back.

Sora kept talking and touching, eventually resting his head on Riku’s chest. After wrapping up a tale about sailing ships and giant squid and tragic acts of true love, Sora’s mind trailed to a new topic.

“I can hear your heart.” He murmured, a somewhat ironic comment after the story of a pirate’s heart in a box.

“What’s it saying?” Riku teasingly murmured, still not wanting to open his eyes.

Sora’s smile was a physical sensation on his sternum, He pretended to listen to a speaker Riku couldn’t hear.

“Oh, really? Mhmm…wow! I never would have guessed! Okay. Yeah.”

Sora giggled, then translated for Riku, “It said it’s amazed you slept through your alarm. Which, for the record, I didn’t.” 

“Sorry.”

Riku didn’t like that he’d slept through his alarm—he had a routine, and breaking it wasn’t good. But, he supposed he could live with one morning waking up to Sora’s stories instead of an annoying beep. Wondering how long he’d slept in, Riku asked,

“What time is it?”

“Seven.”

By now, Riku would have finished his workout. Sora and Kairi usually slept until eight—or later—so he’d be fixing breakfast and reading a book. As if on que, Riku’s stomach growled.

“We should surprise Kairi with breakfast!” Sora said, mind in a similar place as Riku’s.

He sat up, extracting his warmth from Riku. Riku finally opened his eyes, taking in Sora’s bedhead. His hair was always a bit wild, but sleep made it ten-times worse. Riku remembered many sleep-overs where Sora had woken up with his hair flat on one side, and sticking straight-up on the other.

Sora and Riku forwent fresh clothes in order to cook breakfast quickly and surprise Kairi. They made waffles—her favourite—and Sora insisted on squeezing oranges for fresh juice. Riku cooked eggs and bacon, leaving Sora in charge of the waffle maker. They chopped up some strawberries and bananas, which Sora insisted on plating in a star-fruit design. Riku rolled his eyes and teased him relentlessly about it, to the point where Sora’s face was distinctly red.

The two had just finished setting up the table when Kairi came down the stairs, wrapped in a blanket and rubbing sleep from her eyes. When she saw the breakfast spread, a big, sweet smile appeared on her face.

“You two are the best, you know?” She said as she took a seat and piled food on her plate.

“We know.” They said at the same time.

The three of them shared big smiles.


	7. Five

Sora hadn’t yet shared with Riku what had been bothering him that first night in the house, Riku still wanted to know what had upset Sora, and it was frustrating that he couldn’t help until Sora told him. But, he would wait.

Sora had something else on his mind anyway—puppies. He’d gone out to the store a few times with either Riku or Kairi in-tow to buy supplies off the list, and when the time rolled around to meet with Xion, Sora could hardly sleep he was so excited.

After a lot of insisting—in reality Sora only asked once—Kairi and Riku agreed to go with him. The puppies were in Twilight Town, so on the morning of Puppy Day they loaded into Highwind. Twilight Town was a four-hour flight, so they left early. Riku flew, used to functioning this time of day, while Kairi and Sora slept a few more hours in the back.

They landed by the Old Mansion which Xion and company had taken over as their home. Their friends greeted them enthusiastically, with lots of hugs and catching up. Roxas and Namine were going to go with them, but Axel couldn’t—he had “work”. He and the ex-Organization member Riku had known as Saïx were dedicating themselves toward researching for their lost childhood friend. Axel did say hello, however, exchanging hugs and wishing them all luck before ducking back inside the mansion.

The gaggle of excited young adults hurried into town, where they met with Hayner, Pence, and Olette by the mailbox. Xion and Sora’s puppy expedition was turning into quite a party. When they reached the house of the owner, they were greeted at the door by a kind couple in their forties, who smiled and laughed at how many “kids” had shown up at their door. Rather than meeting the puppies in the living room as the owners had planned, they took everyone out to their backyard where everyone sat in the grass in a big circle.

Then, they brought out the puppies. There were six of them, all nine-weeks old with short dark-silver fur and hound-dog faces with ice-blue eyes. The puppies were bounding around the circle in endless excitement, three-too-many people for them to stay with any one for more than a few seconds. Playtime lasted about ten minutes before the owners pulled Sora and Xion aside and interviewed them about taking puppies home.

For the others, it meant more playtime.

On Riku’s right, Namine was focused on a pup with a pan-shaped white-spot on her chest. They were playing a game where Namine would place her hands in random patterns on the grass, and the puppy would find one of them and pounce. Every now and then she would jump on her and get a few licks on Namine’s face before she could defend herself.

On Riku’s left, Kairi and the other girl she sat next to, Olette, were petting the various puppies that came up to them. But rather than the dogs, the two were focused on conversation about each of their lives. Riku had only met Olette once, when he dropped off Namine with Xion and company. She was spunky and sassy, complimentary to Kairi’s sweet and determined nature. It seemed to Riku they were getting along swimmingly.

A puppy landed itself on Riku’s lap, wriggling as she righted herself on his legs. She had been wrestling with one of her siblings, and once she discovered the height of Riku’s legs gave her an advantage she stayed there, snapping her baby teeth at her sibling as it yipped and jumped at her. Riku tickled her haunches and the puppy rounded on him, pawing at and licking his hands. She rolled over on her back, and he tickled her again for a moment or two before she launched herself upside down from his lap. Riku watched the puppy make her way over to Hayner and Roxas, where they poked at her to tease her. She caught their fingers in her mouth when she could, yipping and tugging.

The puppy playing with Pence was chased off by two of its siblings. He rolled in the grass for a moment, before spying puppy-less-Riku and bounding over to him. He tackle-flopped into his lap, flailing his legs around as Riku began to play with his feet.

Sora reappeared in his spot between Riku and Kairi. He poked the nose of the puppy still with Kairi and Olette, then turned to poke Riku’s pup. It caught his finger in his mouth and Sora gasped dramatically.

“So rude!” He told the pup, taking advantage of the puppy’s distraction and rubbing his head with the other hand.

The puppy snorted and whined, pawing at Sora’s hand on his head like he was digging.

“He’s feisty.” Riku commented, and Sora laughed.

“Yeah! He’s cute.”

They teamed up on the puppy, but rather than their fingers they used blades of grass for him to catch between his teeth. After a few minutes, Sora looked up at Riku with a huge smile.

“Do you like him?”

Riku was surprised Sora had asked—it would be his dog, after all. Sure, Riku would help but…how involved was Sora expecting—wanting—him to be?

“Yeah, he’s nice.”

Sora shouldered him, teasing, “You’re just saying that.”

Riku shrugged, “I mean, all these puppies are nice. None of them seem mean. You couldn’t go wrong with one.”

Sora nodded in agreement. The puppy jumped up at him, giving his face a ton of kisses.

“Ew!” Sora giggled, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand.

The puppy licked his hand.

“I like this one.” Sora announced, catching the attention of everyone else.

One of the owners came over and helped Sora inspect the puppy, head to toe. Xion chose the one Namine had been playing with, so the other owner helped her inspect that puppy. Once Sora and Xion were satisfied they’d made good choices, everyone helped gather up the extra pups and they all headed inside. Sora and Xion were given packets of paperwork each, including vet recommendations, pedigrees, and shot records and schedules. Then, each puppy got a slip-lead and the party marched out onto the streets. The puppies lead the way, tails wagging and noses sniffing.

The rest of the day was spent playing in the grass outside the mansion, getting the puppies used to their new family. They didn’t want to overwhelm the pups with training, so they only spent fifteen minutes trying to get them to sit before they pulled out Lea’s frisbee and played monkey in the middle. The puppies didn’t mind always being in the middle.

Riku noticed Kairi and Olette tired early, sitting on the steps of the mansion and continuing to talk and laugh with each other. Riku was glad to see Kairi still making friends so easily—she’d always been as socially talented as Sora.

Finally, the day came to a close. Sora and Riku had a hard time convincing Kairi and the puppy—who Sora had named Phantom—onto Highwind. Phantom didn’t want to leave his sister. Listening to him cry on the ship made Sora tear up, so he disappeared inside to comfort Phantom while Riku tried to force Kairi onboard.

Kairi gave in reluctantly after she and Olette traded phone-numbers. Even so, inside the ship she flopped on her back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling with a dopey smile on her face.

It took Sora exactly five seconds post take-off to stand beside her, hands on his hips, his own shit-eating grin as Phantom licked her nose.

“So,” Sora started cheekily, catching Riku’s attention from the pilot’s seat, “Olette’s cute, huh?”

Riku could hardly believe his ears. _What_ had he just said? Checking the window, he saw empty space beyond. He risked looking behind him.

Kairi had not expected to be outed, if her sputtering and red face were anything to go by.

“She—Yeah—I mean—I’m—Phantom!” Kairi picked the pup up and set him on her chest, holding him back from her face with both hands.

She glared up at Sora, who laughed.

“I knew it!” He rounded on Riku and announced in a sing-song voice, “Kairi’s got a cru-ush!”

Riku and Kairi’s eyes met, and Riku was sure he looked as much a deer in headlights as her. Yes, he knew she had a crush. He had thought she’d had a crush for years. On Sora.

“Sora!” Kairi protested, sitting up and frowning at him as he skipped around the ship, “Don’t make fun of me!”

Sora stopped just behind Riku’s chair, leaning his back against it.

“I’m not! I’m excited for you!”

Kairi actually blushed, and put Phantom in front of her face to hide it. Though Riku had seen her act shy a few times before, it had been a long time. He couldn’t help but catch the infectious joy in the little ship, and smiled too as he returned his attention to the space-ocean. Perhaps his darkness didn’t need to be green after all.


	8. Six

On the trip home, Sora was wrapped up in thoughts of how Puppy Day had been a success in more ways than one. Not only was Sora bringing home his first puppy, he now had more confidence toward the next big change he had planned. All thanks to Roxas.

A break in the frisbee game had given Roxas the perfect opportunity, especially with Riku and Hayner heavily involved in a discussion of teams and tactics. Sora was amused by how much Riku was getting into it—it was just monkey in the middle!

“So, how’re things with you and lover-boy?” Roxas had asked, and jeeze, if Sora’s thoughts weren’t still spinning around that, he’d be a monkey’s uncle.

“Wha—fine!” He’d responded, not wanting to get into detail around so many ears.

Roxas knew how things were going anyway—Sora texted him every day!

Roxas had laughed, “Good, just wanted to make sure you weren’t lying to me.”

Sora had stuck his tongue out, “Never!”

“Have you asked him out yet?” Roxas had asked, voice quieter.

Sora hadn’t. Still hadn’t, though with Roxas’ encouragement and support, Sora now felt like he should. Even if Riku said no, that would be okay. Sora knew Riku cared about him enough to stay, because every time he’d asked recently, Riku stayed. Riku himself had asked, too.

But Sora was having a hard time believing Riku would say no, at this point. He hadn’t rejected any of Sora’s physical desires thus far, though he supposed they could be waved off as platonic. Not that that was his intention, but Riku didn’t know that. Yet.

‘ _Soon_ ,’ he thought to himself, ‘ _very soon_.’

~

Phantom adjusted well to his new home, except the crate. For a few weeks, he didn’t like having to go in his crate and made sure everyone knew it. He howled for an hour at night, and even though there was a heavy blanket over the top to block out any light, he could still hear movement and would cry. Riku and Kairi were surprised Sora didn’t let the pup sleep with him and Riku, but Sora insisted he’d read it was important for dogs to be comfortable in their crates. They stuck to it, and eventually Phantom adjusted and stopped howling.

It was easy for the three of them to adapt the dog into their daily routines. Kairi had begun working on her dream of fashion design—encouraged by Sora and Riku when she told them she’d _made_ the pink hoodie she’d been wearing, and the Three Fairies had simply charmed it for her. If either of the boys were out, she would pause her designing to spend some time playing and training the pup. It was thanks to Kairi that Phantom was potty trained so quickly.

Sora spent the most time with Phantom, taking him on long walks around town and spending half-an-hour each day teaching commands. They started with “sit”, then “stay”, then “come”, then “off” because Phantom had a tendency to try and climb anything he could just to lick the closest face. Otherwise, he and Phantom played, ate, napped, played some more, ate again, and went through the torture of bedtime.

Riku was the first to wake in the mornings, so he was the first to release Phantom from his wire prison. On-leash, they would go outside for potty time, then Riku would take him on his morning jog along the beach. After, while Riku trained in the backyard before breakfast, Phantom would roll in the grass, attached to the long wire-lead tied to a spike in the ground so he couldn’t run away.

As neither himself nor Sora were intent on any munny-making ventures like Kairi, Riku found himself spending a lot of time alone with Sora as time went on. More often than not, he would join Sora on his walks around town. A few times they ran into their old middle school friends Selfie, Tidus, and Wakka. They loved Phantom as much as anyone who met him.

Spending so much time together had given Riku and Sora plenty of time to talk. Except, they seemed to talk about everything other than what was going on between them. They talked about Phantom, they talked about how nice it was to be home—though that was mainly Sora, Riku was truly indifferent so long as he was with his friends—and see their old friends, and of course, they talked about Kairi and her growing crush on Olette.

Kairi was spending a lot more time with her phone than usual, trading messages with her new friend at least once an hour. Weekly phone calls were common, too, and one night Sora convinced—or, as far as Riku was concerned, _coerced_ —him to sit outside her bedroom door and listen like they were gossipy thirteen year-olds all over again. Kairi had found them, of course, which had led to a game of chase through the house. As he and Sora lay together that night, Riku had a hard time remembering the last time he’d had that much fun.

Spending the nights wrapped in bed with Sora was becoming a habit that made Riku’s heart race just thinking about it. Sora was funny about it, still, always making a show of going to his own room, “for Kairi’s sake”, before sneaking into Riku’s an hour or so later. Perhaps it made him feel rebellious and daring. However, Sora didn’t try to hide the fact that he appeared from Riku’s room each morning. It took exactly one instance of Kairi coming across him in the hall for her to catch on and tease them both about it nearly every other day. Once she even said,

_“This is payback for teasing_ me _.”_

That had turned Sora’s cheeks very, _very_ pink and threw Riku even deeper into his confusion. To be perfectly honest, Riku was still reeling from the discovery that Kairi wasn’t infatuated with Sora and that his two best friends weren’t on the verge dating. He’d been sure, for the past five _years_ , that the two of them would end up together and he’d always be the odd-one out. For reality to change so dramatically in one moment…

But still, Sora wouldn’t fess up. Riku was beginning to think he never would—that their friendship would stagnate in this strange, platonic intimacy. He was perfectly fine with that, except for the nagging that began in the depths of his brain telling him if not Kairi, Sora would find someone else. Because there was simply _no way_ Sora reciprocated. If he did, Sora surely would’ve acted on his feelings by now. That was just who he was.

Fortunately for Riku, he didn’t need to suffer more than a month in this feelings-limbo.


	9. Seven

It began, weirdly enough, with eyeliner.

Something Riku had been forced to wear as a dare a few times in middle school and early high school during group sleepovers. The first time, Tidus had snuck into his older sister’s room and stole the pencil from her makeup box. Sora and Wakka held him still—not that he was trying to get away—while Selfie drew on him. Wakka and Tidus had teased him the whole time, saying it matched his girly long hair and other nonsense teen-boy-masculinity-is-fragile comments. But Sora and Kairi had smiled at him, and as they walked home together the next morning Kairi told him she thought it made him look pretty. Sora hadn’t said anything, though he nodded agreement with Kairi. But, at the next game of truth or dare, Sora was the one to dare Riku to wear eyeliner again. This time, Selfie taught him how to do it himself. Kairi practiced, too, and soon the night was spent as a make-up tutorial session rather than daring each other to eat cinnamon or onions or other stomach-ache-inducing dares.

One night, as he and Kairi and Sora were watching a late-night movie—well, “late” according to Riku—Sora began asking Kairi about stage make-up. Kairi had been learning some techniques to go with her costumes. The lively discussion forced Riku to turn on the subtitles, and he was able to focus on the movie until he heard the phrase, “we should try that on Riku,” come out of Kairi’s mouth.

A moment passed in which the two of them stared at Riku with devilish grins.

Then Riku, knowing all too well what those looks meant, bolted upstairs. The scratch of Phantom’s nails on the wood floors and _plop_ of his feet on the proceeding carpet were the only noises following him, so he paused at the door to let the dog in before slamming it closed and locking it. A knock on his door came a moment later, and Sora said,

“Rikuuuuuu I swear we aren’t going to do anything!”

Rustling from the wall on Kairi’s side of his room told him otherwise. Phantom whined and scratched at Riku’s door, looking up at Riku with round eyes, clearly wanting him to open to door for Sora.

“I don’t believe you.”

“It was just an idea, I promise!” Sora insisted, though his little giggles gave him away.

“No.”

“Aww, come on Riku! Don’t be a chicken.”

“I absolutely will be.”

“It’s just eyeliner.” Kairi scoffed, now beside Sora in front of his door.

“You say that, then it’s going to be more.”

“Maybe it is, you’re a big boy, deal with it.” She argued back.

Phantom whined and scratched again. Riku sighed. And opened the door. Which he immediately regretted because they took hold of his arms and dragged him to the bathroom. He was unceremoniously sat on the closed toilet lid, then Kairi set her makeup bag on the counter. Sora leaned against the door frame, blocking the exit with his arms crossed over his chest and a silly grin on his face. Riku stuck out his tongue at him and Sora giggled. Phantom wriggled passed Sora’s legs and licked Riku’s leg between the top of his sock and the bottom of his cut-offs.

Riku pet his head, and told him, “You sold me out, buddy.”

“He didn’t _make_ you open the door.” Kairi rolled her eyes, approaching with a bottle of tan liquid.

Phantom padded back to Sora as Riku closed his eyes and pouted, “Yes he did.”

Kairi’s focus switched to her “project”, and so the three of them were quiet while she worked. Riku hated the cold, wet feeling of whatever she was spreading on his face. It felt like mud but smelled like chemicals.

She switched tools a few times, rubbing more stuff on his cheeks, eyebrows, eyelids, lips, until she stood back and told both him and Sora to look. Sora traded places with her while Riku stood and looked at the mirror.

He looked like a deer.

Kairi had darkened the edges of his face as well as his cheek bones and nose, then dotted him with white. There was additional white lines underneath his eyes, then black eyeliner and black lipstick on his nose, under his nose, and over his top lip.

He glanced at Sora, who looked more doe-eyed than himself. Though when he caught Riku’s eye, Sora turned away from the mirror to look at Kairi. Riku swore a blossom of red had appeared on Sora’s face, but he’d moved so quickly….

“This is actually kinda cool.” He admitted quietly, to which his two friends burst into cheers.

“Hold on, I need to take a picture!” Kairi pushed her way passed the boys and hurried downstairs.

Riku continued admiring her handiwork in the mirror, absently noticing Sora slouched against the counter beside him. Riku heard Kairi mumble—well, she was probably speaking at full volume but for him it was muffled—and glanced toward the door, just as Sora leaned into his space and kissed him. It took Riku’s brain the same amount of time to process what was happening as it took Kairi to return. And then Sora turned away, acting as if nothing had happened, just as Kairi walked through the door.

But Sora had always been a bad liar, even when he wasn’t talking. And Riku was sure his own face gave everything away, by the heat rising in his cheeks and his inability to look anywhere but Sora.

“You messed up his lip!” Kairi whined, setting her phone on the counter and pushing Sora out of the way so she could get in her makeup bag and fetch the lipstick.

Riku stepped forward, instinctually following Sora. Sora glanced at Riku, eyes wide and face tinged red. Then he bolted, door to his room on the opposite end of the hall slamming shut.

“Jeeze, just let me get a picture!” Kairi put a hand on Riku’s chest as though daring him to move while she fixed his lipstick.

As she worked, Riku marveled at her lack of alarm at the situation. As if she’d been expecting it, sooner than later, and was already passed it. Riku, on the other hand, had worked through his initial shock and was practically bouncing on his toes to go after Sora.

Once she was satisfied, Kairi switched the lipstick for her phone and snapped a quick picture. Then she released Riku with a finger pointed in his face.

“Go get your man, but don’t be an idiot, okay?” She scrunched her nose and glared at him in the most _if-you-hurt-Sora-I’ll-hurt-you_ way.

Not that she had anything to worry about.

Riku hurried to Sora’s room, surprised to find the door unlocked. He slipped inside, closing it behind him before turning his attention to Sora, who had hidden himself under the crisp, unused comforter of his bed. With the kind of sigh that should have brought courage and instead fueled nerves, Riku went over and sat on the bed beside him, pulling the covers a little tight over Sora. He was reminded of a similar scene, weeks ago.

“What’s up?” He asked Sora.

A muffled response came from the blankets. When Sora made no move to come out, Riku decided he needed a new tactic. Talking had never been one of his strongest suits, and now that he _needed_ to say something, Riku didn’t know where to start. Everything that crossed his mind seemed cliché or presumptuous or both. Until he was blindsided by the memory of a conversation that had never really happened. He curled his fingers in the blanket underneath, suddenly overcome with…joy. How could he have forgotten? How could he have let himself doubt, after that?

“There’s something I haven’t told you, about my journey to rescue you from…” Riku’s voice shook, so he took a moment to collect himself before continuing, “I flew through tunnels, of some sort, which guided me to each world. In them, you were speaking to me. Not your conscious, but your younger self. We were talking about racing, how we used to on the play island. And you said…I asked you if you wanted to share the paopu with Kairi if you won.”

Sora shifted behind him, not surfacing, but seeming to draw arms and legs further in on himself indicated by the collisions against Riku’s back.

“You said ‘no’,” it took a lot of courage for Riku to speak loudly enough that Sora would hear him through the fabric, “you wanted to share one with me.”

He paused, giving Sora the opportunity to disagree, or agree, or _something_. But Sora had stilled under the covers.

“I want that, too. I’ve always wanted that, even when I was being dumb and making it about Kairi I really wanted to share it with you.”

A muffled sound came from the blankets, then Sora wriggled out from them and sat up, hair sticking in every direction with a little static to make it extra crazy. He stared at Riku with wide, teary eyes.

“You’re kidding.”

Riku shook his head, and _jeeze_ his hands felt so clammy now that he was face-to-face with Sora, “No. I really mean it.”

Sora was a fish out of water for a moment, mouth opening and closing as he tried to say something. Then, in typical Sora-fashion, his lips drew into a pout.

“Why didn’t you tell me right when we got home? That night on the beach, we could’ve gone to the paopu tree!”

“You could’ve told me that first night in the house, when something was bothering you.” Riku argued before he could think better of it.

Sora didn’t get mad easily, thankfully.

“Fine. At least we’re telling each other now.”

Riku couldn’t help a snort of laughter—of course this would become a _competition_. Sometimes it seemed everything was, with them.

“Fine. Kiss me again?” Riku dared Sora, heart in his throat.

Sora scooted forward on the bed and pressed his lips to Riku’s. Riku wove a hand around the back of Sora’s neck and pressed back this time, lengthening the kiss just a bit. When they broke a part, Sora had a dopey smile.

“What?” Riku asked, when Sora just kept smiling.

“You look a _deer_ able.”

Riku rolled his eyes, “Shut up.”

“It’s really en _deer_ ing.”

“Sora.”

“You’re so _staggy_.”

“I don’t even know what you were—.”

“ _Doe_ me a favor?”

Riku sighed, “What?”

“Kiss me, _deer_ ly beloved.”

Riku kissed him, partly because he wanted to kiss Sora for the rest of forever, and partly to shut him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what sora doesn't know is kairi's going to test mermaid makeup on him next...bring on the fish puns!


End file.
